Curiosity Killed The Cat

Inspector Cam Detective Series

by Joan Cockin

Little a village that had been taken over by The Ministry of Scientific Research during the Second World War ... and after the War the Ministry had stayed on, much to the annoyance of several of the residents. However, being annoyed was one thing, being murdered quite another. It seemed that one of the members of the Civil Service who billeted in the village had been a little too curious about everybody and everything in Little Biggling, and there was a terrible price to pay. Inspector Cam found that he wasn't getting much help in finding the person who had most to hide... First published in 1949 this was the first of three detective thrillers penned by Joan Cockin, otherwise Edith Joan Burbidge Macintosh, PhD, CBE.

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Crime, British Literature, Historical Fiction, Historical Mystery

280 pages, Paperback

Published August 15, 2024

About the author

Joan Cockin, otherwise Edith Joan Burbidge Macintosh, PhD, CBE; brought up in America, educated at Oxford, British diplomat and part of the UK delegation at the first NATO and Council of Europe conferences; married in India – her career cut short, as was the rule for women, by marriage there. Then, a second career as a consumer champion, co-founding the National and the Scottish Consumer Councils, acting as Legal Ombudsman for Scotland, founding the Insurance Ombudsman Bureau, and serving on a Royal Commission. As well as a writer of 3 detective thrillers…

Books:
Curiosity Killed the Cat
Villainy at Vespers
Deadly Earnest

Reviews

[mark monday]

perfectly cooked little dish, no notes. amusing dialogue and charming character work is front and center in this golden age murder mystery. other highlights: the immediately post-world war 2 era brought an unexpected gravity to the mainly cheerful tone; the backdrop of billeted government ministry workers dealing with life in a small english village was novel; the killer was a surprise; the detective and his friend the doctor made for fun leads; the writing was relaxed, lightly comic, and realistic. a sweet and warm sort of realism. this is a humane book and, despite its frequent mockery of human foibles, surprisingly tender. Joan Cockin clearly liked and appreciated the world and the characters she wrote about. I look forward to reading more by her.

[Sneha Pathak (reader_girl_reader)]

Joan Cockin was an author i discovered recently on Instagram. I am not sure on whose page was she featured, but I was intrigued enough to read her. Cockin was one of the first women to become a part of British diplomatic services and wore a lot of hats throughout her eventful life. She also wrote three mystery novels, of which one is Curiosity Killed the Cat.

Set in a small village after the WW2, the book features characters who work in the ministry and the villagers. The ministry has requisitioned a country house during the war and it yet to be restored to its owners. This, and the fact that most of the ministry workers were made to billet with the villagers since the ministry took over, has created a sense of irritation on both sides. When one of the workers of the ministry is found dead in his room, Inspector Cam is tasked with finding the culprit.

The book is a well-written whodunnit, very much in keeping with its counterparts of that time. The atmosphere is created and maintained very well throughout and the central mystery is quite engaging. A vein of budding romance runs through the plot and there are hints of espionage and international intrigue as well. To be honest, I was pleasantly surprised by Curiosity Killed the Cat, even more so because Cockin's other novel I had dnf-ed. But this one i will heartily recommend.

[Louise Culmer]

Quite an interesting mystery set just after WW2. A government research station which was evacuated to the village of Little Biggling for the duration of the war is still there, and many of the employees wish to return to London. The inhabitants of Little Biggling wish they would as well. Then one of the government employees is murdered, and local,policeman Inspector Cam is called in to investigate.
An enjoyable mystery with some quite interesting characters, I will definitely read the others in this series.

[Leandra]

I really enjoyed the cast of characters in this post-WW2 village-setting mystery. Inspector Cam was a great sleuth to follow, and his friendship with Doctor MacDermot was charming.

My favorite aspect of the narrative was the village of Little Biggling. I found the setting and its residents believable and endearing. The award of best side character goes to the darling Mr Witherspoon!

CW: domestic violence

[Eric]

“This weaving theories, as you call it, is all I can do just yet. I’m certainly going to get nowhere by waiting for the facts to fall into place by themselves. I can only try fitting them together, one way and another, until one day—they fit.”

Thus Inspector Cam near the start of his investigation into the murder of the widely-disliked civil service messenger,James Parry, whose snooping around in the still-evacuated Ministry of Scientific Research station at Little Biggling may have led to his sudden death.

Rather oddly Cam enlists the help of his friend, the local GP, but this falls by the wayside as the case increases in seriousness when the possibility of espionage enters the scene.

I enjoyed this first book in Joan Cockin’s trio of mysteries slightly more than “Villainy at Vespers” in spite of some rather treacley romances. It is tightly plotted and even with the very limited roster of suspects the author maintains doubt and tension right up to the denouement. Again, characters are vividly portrayed but without caricature and the humour is generally playful rather than facetious. Some aspects of life in Britain in the immediate-WW2 period feature, with continued rationing, billeting and government controls especially prominent.

In all, a most enjoyable read. If the third in the series is as good then there are delights still to come.

4.5 stars.

[Kate]

For my full review click the link below:

https://crossexaminingcrime.wordpress...

[Subodh Garg]

4/5

Little Biggling, a town divided between the Ministry and the local townsfolk, is brought into turmoil, when a messenger from the Ministry, is found murdered in his apartment. Inspector Cam, the local police authority, takes up the case and with professional acumen and humorous wit, manages to nab the culprit before he strikes again.

The prose of this book is wonderful. Personally, I found it quite addictive. More often than not, I found myself rereading the same para over and over, just fascinated with this charming style of writing. In my opinion, the author has gone over this book multiple times to ensure that the words are perfect in the order that they are presented in. There is no wastage of words, no excessive superfluousness and no shortage either. I think every decision made, at least on the prose front, including the vocabulary, the tone, the tense, the narration, the dialogue and the scenery was masterful. That's not to say that I think this book has better English than others. It's just that I found the prose of this book more enjoyable than others.

Moving on, the mystery is not the best that I've ever read. But it is mildly stimulating none the less. This novel is a typical example of a cozy mystery, it's just set in the 1950s. If you like cozies, then you will love this book as well. Little Biggling is truly a charming place full of charming little people that live charming little lives. I really enjoyed reading about them.

Now, let's review this book like we usually do:

The Detective and the Method of Detection : 4/5
The Criminal : 4/5
The Method of Crime : 4/5

The Detective of the story is Inspector Cam, the local overqualified Police Inspector. Throughout the narrative, we are shown several instances of Inspector Cam making a name for himself as a great detective. He has his methods, like all great detectives do and he follows them relentlessly till he catches the culprit. A novel experience for me was reading a detective from the Police Force who was not a bumbling idiot and who was competent enough to solve even the more dire of cases on his own. Though this case was not the most ingenious that I've had the pleasure of reading, I'm sure that the good inspector would have been more than up to the task.

Nows let's talk about the Murderer and the Method of Crime. There was nothing novel about the death, the culprit or the method that they chose to apply. This book presents us with no great leap of imagination or deduction, neither on the side of the culprit nor on the side of the detective. The murderer did have a motive and yes, it was sufficiently predictable. Moreover, there was no question about the method as it was evident since the discovery of the deceased. And the detective does manage to solve the case using a lot of common sense and doesn't seem superbly more intelligent than you and I. But what the book does manage however, better than several books, is to present a simple mystery with tact and class and charm.

Overall, it was a charming book. A one-time pleasure. Highly recommended to any fans of the armchair variety.

Can't wait to read more!!!

[Michelle]

This was a rather charming post-WWII mystery with very good atmosphere and characters, but it suffered a little from a lack of tautness in the case and the sleuthing.

I was glued to it at the beginning as we got to know the characters who live in a small English village - some because they're natives, others because they're working for a government lab in a requisitioned stately home, much to the disgruntlement of the villagers. At this point it reminded me very much of Cyril Hare's With a Bare Bodkin.

However, my interest began to wane towards the middle as the sleuthing meandered and began to acquire more random elements like economic espionage.

Nevertheless, the plot held together and the mystery was resolved with just about everything explained, including an interesting motive.

[Frances]

This was a fun mystery set in post WW II England where a group of scientists and their administrators are still stationed in a small village well after the rest of Britons have returned home. A particularly annoying messenger working at the station is murdered one night, and the suspects are quite numerous as he had managed to antagonize most of the staff. The local Inspector, a good friend of the local Doctor, does a stellar job of following up the clues and solving the mystery, and the local characters are an enjoyable mix of eccentrics and recognizable types. I'm not sure if this is one of a series or not but it works well as a standalone regardless.

[Dawn Tyers]

Probably a 3.5 rating seems right for this one. The delightful village setting is very vividly described as is the cast of characters. Cam’s friendship with the doctor felt particularly genuine. I loved how easily Miss Penny was tracked down following her flight to London (those were the days!), and there was a real sense of tension towards the end with much to-ing and fro-ing on the part of the criminal and the inspector. Also some charming romantic side stories. Nice read.

[Brian J]

excellent

I really enjoyed this post WW2 mystery. The characters and plot were wonderful and the atmosphere of the time was great. I would recommend the book to fans of Golden Age and those who like historical mysteries
Chris Wallace

[Katie]

Great mystery but light. Takes place after the war in a secret laboratory still in an old mansion that was taken during the war. An odious man gets killed. Great characters. Fun mystery - not profound but great to read.

[J Chad]

Unendurably boring

[John]

An excellent police procedural with plenty of detection and nicely written. Kept me guessing right up to the end.

[Lucia]

Excellent example of vintage crime... well written with interesting historical detail of immediate post-war Britain.

[Janet Farnham]

Interesting plot that is enjoyable at times and too drawn out and tedious in places.

[Monica]

I wanted to like it. It took me a few weeks to finish it, I found it truly soporific. And I still have no idea why this title.